Meet Kirsten Jones | Actor & Playwright

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kirsten Jones and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kirsten, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking.
No actor can be an actor without risk. We choose a career that has no defined trajectory or rising ladder to the top. Our job as an actor is to continually find and apply to jobs (auditions). The constant search for work and lack of job stability is inherently risky.

I love this process and I love risk. One of the many reasons I enjoy acting is for this risk factor. It motivates me to always want to be better; to take new acting classes, to learn new skills that might be useful, to improve everyday as an actor and a person.

I’m very much still on my acting journey but to get to this point I’ve had to take major risks. I moved to England from South Africa at fifteen specifically to study at an acting high school, Redroofs’ Theater School. It was never the plan for me to immigrate to England, but I stayed there and eventually got a BA (Hons) in Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia.

In 2019 I moved to San Francisco to do marketing but in the pandemic I realized I was unhappy because I wasn’t acting. I took another risk and gave up that career to study acting again at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.

I graduated last year and have been so fortunate to be a working actor since then. It is a difficult journey but I’ve loved the highs and lows. I’m grateful for the excitement risk brings to my life.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
What sets me apart is that I specialize in certain theater/film genres, namely experimental, dystopian, period and satire. Within those genres I tend to play characters that are suffering from trauma and/or mental illnesses. As someone with chronic depression, anxiety and ADHD it is my mission within acting to accurately portray characters suffering from these conditions.

I just finished playing Matilda Dembowski in ‘The Year Without a Summer’ at the Loft Ensemble. I am extremely proud of this show because it is the first play I’ve worked on that proudly represents people of all genders and sexualities. Moreover, the play is set in 1816 and beautifully normalizes trans and non-heterosexual stories in a historical context.

I was born in George, South Africa. When I was fifteen I felt extreme frustration at the lack of acting opportunities in my hometown so I found a theater high school in England and moved there to attend it. At the same time I fell in love with writing and I ended up getting a BA (Hons) in Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia.

I started a career in Marketing in San Francisco but realized I was deeply unhappy not doing acting so I switched courses and went back to school to study acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. I graduated last year and have since had the pleasure of being able to be a working actor in Los Angeles.

It has not been an easy road – pursuing a career in acting is a choice you make everyday. In saying that, I’ve loved the challenges and will continue to fight for my career every day. Since my career switch back to acting I’ve learnt that I can work harder than I thought, that rest time is important, and that I’m incredibly resilient.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Day 1: The first place I’d take my bestie would be Bay Cities Deli in Santa Monica to get their infamous sandwich, the Godmother. We would take our sandwiches to the Getty art museum and eat them in the beautiful gardens overlooking the city. We would peruse the amazing art galleries and then head to Will Rodgers beach to swim and watch the sunset.

Day 2: We would go to The Broad in Downtown to see their wacky modern art. We would go have lunch at one of the many stalls in Grand Central Market. We would then head to Angel City Brewing for an afternoon drink.

Day 3: We would go to Manhattan beach to play volleyball and swim. We would eat delicious calzones at the Manhattan Pizzeria. Afterwards we would head to the Shellback Tavern to get a beer and watch the sunset over the beach.

Day 4: We would rent a swan boat at Echo Park and sail it around the lake. We would take a walk around and hit the various vintage stores surrounding the park. We would get amazing tofu pad see ew at Sticky Rice. We would then go see live music at the Echo, watching whatever they were playing that night.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I just finished playing Matilda Dembowski in ‘The Year Without a Summer’ at the Loft Ensemble, NoHo.

One of the directors of this show, Daniel J. Parker, has been immensely helpful and supportive of me – in the show and beyond! Throughout the rehearsal process Daniel taught me invaluable new techniques to improve my character work that I will be using going forward. His insights into the play and my character were intelligent, empathetic and important.

He has also been an incredibly supportive and kind friend to me at a stressful time in my life. He is always there to have a laugh or a deep conversation,with. Whatever I’ve needed he’s been there for me. Thank you, Dan!

Website: https://resumes.actorsaccess.com/2152484-6034707

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kirsten._.jones/

Other: https://www.loftensemble.org/event-details/the-year-without-a-summer-by-greer-dubois-2024-07-05-20-00